Number one spot for Brian

Not only did he finish the table tennis season with singles and doubles victories at the National Masters competition, he has also reached number one in the country’s rankings for his age category.

Brian was competing at Tipton Sports Academy over the weekend, where he and partner Roy Norton won the over 70s doubles final.

Fate then pitted Brian against his partner in the singles final, with Brian claiming the title 11-7, 11-7, 11-7.

“We have been doubles partners for 10 years and never had a cross word, so there was no ill feeling after the final,” he told The Standard.

Brian has been the man to beat in the Veteran English Table Tenns Society’s masters tournaments this year... winning all six tournaments he has competed in.

And this event saw him once again overcome the challenge of former world champion Herbert Neubauer.

He also reached the semis of the over 60s.

However, topping the over 70s men’s rankings for the first time has brought particular joy to Brian, as it was his successes at the Masters events this year which have seen him announce himself firmly in his new age category.

Brian was ranked number one in the over 50s section for a matter of months, but was ranked in top spot in the over 60s section for seven consecutive years.

Now he can add the over 70s ranking top spot to his list of achievements.